Thirteen Guilty Pleasures . . .

No theme, no questions, just thirteen of my guilty pleasures . . .

1. Malted Milk Cookies, spread with Nutella. You get the lovely cripsness of a slightly sweet malt flavoured cookie, covered in delicious and creamy hazelnut chocolate spread. Need I say more?

2. Fresh, cheap store bought white bread (must be incredibly fresh and soft) spread with softened butter and Heinze or Kraft Sandwich Spread. I love the softness of the bread that goes so well with the creamy, tangy crunchiness of the sandwich spread.

3. Crisp buttered toast, spread with Cheese Whiz. Cheese Whiz is a processed cheese spread that you can get in North America. It tastes quite a bit like the Dairy Lee slices that you can get over here, except that it is creamy and comes in a jar. You can spoon it out onto stuff and spread it around. I always loved it melted and spooned over cooked broccoli too. I sure miss it sometimes!

4. Bacon Baps . . . soft white rolls filled with oodles and oodles of sauteed back bacon, crisp only on the edges and topped with lashing of brown sauce. Salty, tangy and soft all together on one juicy mouthful after another . . .

5. A big bowl of freshly opened Rice Crispies Cereal, topped with sugar and sliced bananas. It must be fresh cereal, not stale, and the bananas just slightly ripened . . . not green, but not going brown either. It's even better with a slice of toast and jam on the side. You take one bite of the cereal and banana and then one bite of the toast and then eat them together. I know . . . it sounds gross, but it's my guilty pleasure and it's what I like.

6. British pancakes, spreadk with nutella and rolled up like cigars. Totally gorgeous!

7. Tangy thick and creamy Greek yoghurt drizzled with Golden Syrup. You get that lovely creamy tang accompanied with the caramel-like sweetness of the golden syrup that all sort of melts in your mouth . . . mmmm . . .

8. Fresh baked bread, still hot from the oven, thickly sliced and spread with cold butter and creamy smooth peanut butter. The butter so cold that you can't actually spread it evenly so that you get little pockets of ice cold buttery goodness and the bread so hot that some of the butter melts into it and mingles with the soft peanut butter into a gastronomical delight!

9. Frozen miniature Mars Bars. You trick youself into thinking these aren't really all that bad for you, coz they're so small, right? Only a tiny mouthful. But frozen hard. The chocoalte crackles under your teeth. Along with that smooth icy caramel and nougat, this has to be way better than a deep fried one. (The mind boggles at the thought of a deep fried Mars Bar . . . only in Scotland you say?)

10. A heated cake type of doughnut, sliced in half with a slice of cold processed cheese in the middle like a sandwich. This is to die for. I love the nutmeg flavour of the doughnut and when you combine that with the flavour of the cheese, you just have the right combination that is quite simply divine. It's a good thing we can't get those doughnuts over here . . .

11. Crisp and butter TUC crackers spread with Seriously Strong Cheddar Cheese spared. W-O-W!

12. Chip butties. Once again, thich slices of soft white bread, lavishly buttered and folded around crisp French Fries, that have been drizzled with lots of malt vinegar and salt. To die for!

13. Crisp slices of apple, spread with cream cheese. It feels healthy, coz it's an apple right? You get the crisp sweetness of the apple mixed with the rich creamy tang of the cheese, and actually if you use low fat or no fat cream cheese, it's probably not all that bad for you after all!!

So, there you have it, thirteen of my guilty pleasures. I think I just gained ten pounds writing about them, but what a way to go!!! Where's my breakfast???

Here's a lovely little dish that I have discovered over here called Colcannon. I believe it's Irish in origin. It's delicious paired with grilled or roasted meats, and I confess . . . even all on it's own!



*Colcannon*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

I can remember reading a story once about a big rough and ready Irish family. They had this for supper and it was set in a big bowl in the middle of the table, a large crater scooped into the middle and filled with melting butter. They all sat around and scooped into it, eating it together with scraps of freshly baked crusty bread. It sounded so delicious. It is delicious, truly and so very easy to make. We might not sit around scooping it up with chunks of bread now, but a dip in the middle filled with melting butter is still a pretty tasty thing to do.

1 pound cabbage, finely chopped
7 to 8 fluid ounces of milk or cream
2 small leeks or green spring onion tops, chopped
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of ground mace
4 TBS melted butter



Cook the cabbage in a large pan of boiling salted water until very tender. Drain well and keep warm.

Put the milk or cream in a small pan with the leek or spring onion and simmer until soft. Set aside and keep warm.

Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with salted water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until cooked through and they can be pierced easily with the tip of a knife or the tines of a fork. Drain well and then place back on the warm burner, giving them a good shake to dry them out. Mash well. Mix in the leeks and enough of the milk or cream to give it a creamy consistency. Add the cabbage and season with salt, pepper and mace. Drizzle with the melted butter and serve immediately.

Of course being totally hedonistic, I also add a knob of butter to mine at the time. Why not!!



Got Bacon??? Be sure to check out The English Kitchen!!